The Breeding Experiment (Veslor Mates Book 3) Read online

  “What do you mean, you knew you’d have to sleep with someone?”

  She looked boldly into his eyes again. “The recruiter from Defcon Red didn’t want to hire us at first. I begged him, telling him I needed to get my baby sister off the planet. He said he’d hire us if I’d be nice to him…whenever he wanted company, once we reached the ship.”

  Rage built inside Gnaw. It happened a lot around this female. “The male made copulating with him a condition for you to gain work? Is that what you are implying?”

  “I was upfront about how desperate I was, and men like sex. It’s not as if I have anything else to bargain with except my body. I made it clear my sister was off limits. She’s all that matters. I’d do whatever it takes to protect Becky.”

  “I will deal with this male once we are returned. He won’t be approaching you.”

  Her eyes widened. “No! He could fire us and we’d be sent back home!”

  “He won’t.”

  “You can’t do anything, Gnaw. I can’t risk us being returned to Radison. That new inspector will realize two workers are missing from our greenhouse. He’ll view the security footage, see what my sister looks like, then he’ll put out an arrest alert. That means we’ll be taken into custody the moment we return! I’ll probably go to straight to the mines, but Becky would be sent to a brothel. She’s too pretty.”

  “The fleet male won’t have you returned. He will know I’ll rip off his limbs if he does anything to you.”

  Her eyes remained wide as she stared at him, appearing uncertain.

  There was a slight hiss, and he spun, his claws extending as the wall opened. Two Elth entered, their weapons trained on him. They parted ways, and a third appeared, carrying a bucket. He set it down with a tentacle and the three withdrew, the wall sealing behind them once again.

  “What is that?”

  “Probably food.”

  “In a bucket?”

  Gnaw could sympathize with her unpleased tone. He walked over to peer inside. The sight made him curl his upper lip in disgust. “It’s some form of plant and water combined into a thick mixture. It’s green.”

  He heard a thump and turned, finding that Darla had slid off the bed and dropped to the floor on her bare feet. She approached, stared into the bucket, and then crouched, sniffing. “Oh boy. That doesn’t smell or look good at all. I can’t even guess what that is, and it’s my job to grow edible plants.” She turned her head. “Do you have any idea?”

  He shook his head. “But we need to keep up our strength.” He lowered to the floor, the bucket between them, and dipped in one extended claw, getting a tiny bit on the end of it. He lifted it to his nose, sniffed, but didn’t pick up anything that alarmed him. It didn’t have an appealing smell, though. He opened his mouth and ran the coated claw across his tongue. It was tasteless.

  “I think it’s planet surface covering.”

  She hesitated, then dipped one of her fingers in, repeating what he’d done. She made a cute face by scrunching her nose. It put wrinkles above her eyes too. “It’s some type of grass. Now I know what you meant by surface covering. Do they think we’re grazing animals?”

  He shrugged. “They would be aware of our biology and needs. They are scientists, of sorts. Eat.”

  She hesitated. “They didn’t even give us spoons.”

  He dug a few of his claws into the green paste-like substance and brought them to his mouth. “Use your fingers.”

  “I hope we’re found soon,” she whispered.

  He nodded, wondering why his grouping hadn’t arrived yet. He closed his eyes, focusing on his implant. The link was there—and hope surged because it felt stronger.

  He hid a smile and opened his eyes, finding Darla watching him.

  “Not much longer.”

  He identified similar hope on her delicate features. “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.”

  She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Like hours? Days?”

  “I’m not certain.” He turned his head to peer at the cameras.

  “Oh. Right.” Her voice rose. “This stuff is so gross.”

  He took another bite. “I’ve eaten worse.”

  “Like what?”

  “My grouping and I were caught in a bad storm once on a planet. The only cover to be found was inside a cave. We were without supplies. The winds were throwing rocks the size of our heads and uplifting trees. We were stranded until it stopped. All there was to eat were brown bugs. They were bitter and caused my eyes to water.”

  She made that cute face again. “Okay, that’s much grosser.”

  “They were high in protein, though. Maith said they were safe to eat.”

  “Maith?”

  He nodded. “He’s part of my grouping, and our medic. He always carries his scanner. He was able to determine the bugs were safe for us to eat.”

  “Tell me about your grouping.” She ate more.

  He figured she was trying to distract herself from the food. “There are four of us. Roth is our leader. He’s the most dominant, yet calm to keep us at peace. Drak is next. He’s direct and smart, which is important, to help Roth make good decisions for us. He mated recently. Her name is Abby.”

  “Are they the ones who had the baby that was on the news?”

  He shook his head. “They met on Defcon Red. Drak and Abby want to have young but are waiting until our assignment is over on that ship. Maith is the most caring, and that is why he became our medic. He’s also skilled with a knife. Also good for a medic.”

  She sat on the floor. “What can you tell me about yourself?”

  “I am grateful for my grouping. I was shunned before I met them. They didn’t have to take me in, but they did.”

  She frowned. “Shunned?”

  He hesitated. “It’s not a good story to tell.”

  “I told you about my life.”

  “That is true, and fair. My father allowed himself to lock on to a female who wasn’t interested in him. It shouldn’t have happened.”

  “Lock on to?”

  He adjusted his body, also sitting on the floor. “When we begin to feel strong emotions for a female, if she’s not interested, we avoid her and remind ourselves that she isn’t going to become our mate until those feelings go away. If she is interested, we allow those emotions to grow stronger. We call it locking on. In our hearts and minds, she becomes our mate. She will be all we want or need. To be with her makes us happy.”

  “That sounds really nice.”

  “It can be, but my father knew she wasn’t for him. The female had rejected him. He allowed himself to lock on to her anyway. When she kept rejecting him, he began to go feral.”

  Her mouth opened, and she appeared shocked.

  He lowered his voice. “His grouping should have put him down. He became unstable and couldn’t control his body or emotions. He lived with three brothers in his grouping, by the same parents. They didn’t have the strength in their hearts to do it.”

  She paled. “Put him down as in…”

  “End his life for the safety of others. A feral Veslor is highly dangerous. My father went after my mother to force her to become his mate.” Gnaw paused; he still felt shame over what his sire had done. “He took her without her consent. She tried to fight him off, to defend herself, but he was stronger.”

  “Oh, Gnaw. I’m so sorry.” She reached for him and touched his arm.

  “They put him down after that, but she was pregnant with me from his attack. She kept me for a few years but as I grew, I resembled him more. It became too painful for her to look at me, and her grouping shunned me. I was old enough to survive on my own.”

  She scooted closer and shoved the bucket from between them. “They kicked you out of your home? How old were you?”

  “Five years. The males had taught me how to hunt and find shelter. None of the groupings near us were willing to accept me, even the one my father had belonged to. They feared I’d make the same mistake, turn feral one day,
too, and they’d have to put me down.”

  “That’s absolute shat!” she spat. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. It makes me angry. They were wrong to treat you badly because of something someone else did.”

  He nodded. “My grouping says the same. I lived on my own for two years, surviving in the forests. Drak found me when I was exploring farther out and took me home. They took me in, and I’ve been with them ever since. They didn’t fear that I’d become like my father.”

  “Of course you wouldn’t. You’re a good man.”

  He watched her closely, studying her. She appeared sincere. “You don’t know me well.”

  “I think I do. You were kind to my sister and I on the shuttle. We were both scared since we’ve never been on one before. Then you could have hurt me.” She turned her head, glancing at the padded exam bed, before peering at him, her cheeks pink once more. “You didn’t. It was great. Then you cleaned me. That’s being a good man, Gnaw. On top of all of that, you want to threaten the fleet recruiter who hired me to make sure he can’t collect on my debt. You care about others.”

  He couldn’t deny anything she’d said. “No male would want to hurt a female.”

  “That’s not true. I was raised on an entire planet where the men in charge don’t care much about women. My father is a good man, but most living there aren’t.”

  “You’ll never return to your planet.” He’d make certain of that. “Try to eat more.”

  “I can’t. This stuff doesn’t taste too nasty, but it’s got a bad texture. I think I’ve had enough. I don’t want my stomach to reject what I’ve gotten down so far.”

  He nodded. The food wasn’t settling well inside his stomach, either. Veslors enjoyed meat. Not planet surface covering. He rose to his feet and held out his hand to her. “We’ll rest.”

  She took his hand, and he pulled her to her feet. Then without warning, he scooped her into his arms. He carried her over to the exam bed and lay her down. Then he climbed up with her.

  She seemed surprised but didn’t protest when he pulled her close, having to hold her to make them both fit. He allowed her to use his arm to pillow her head, and he admitted it felt nice to have her small, soft body curled in front of him.

  “You’re a good man, Gnaw.”

  He wasn’t a man, but a male, though he understood what she meant. He was glad Darla saw him that way, rather than as an animal…the way some humans saw his kind.

  * * * * *

  “Breed!”

  That screechy voice woke Darla. The arm around her waist tightened and the warm, large body molded to her back tensed. Gnaw softly snarled.

  “Breed now, Veslor. Is she not your mate? We can bring in another.”

  Gnaw released her and slid off the exam bed. She sat up and turned. He glared at the camera; the one built into the wall that opened as a door. “The female needs more rest.”

  “Breed her now, or we will kill that one to replace with another.”

  Panic struck. Darla didn’t want to die. And the replacement would be Becky. She didn’t think Gnaw would hurt her sister or force her to have sex with him, but the aliens who held them captive would kill her, too.

  She scooted to the edge of the bed, her shirt sliding up as she did, and rolled onto her stomach, letting her legs drop over the edge. She gripped the top of the padded surface on the other side, to keep herself from totally slipping off. It left her bent over, her lower half exposed, and dangling from the side of the bed again.

  “Please, Gnaw. I’m fine. Do as they say.”

  He snarled louder, and as she stared at him over her shoulder, there was no missing the pure rage on his face. He turned toward her though, reaching for the front of his pants.

  She looked away, finding a spot on the wall to focus on. The last time he was behind her hadn’t been painful, but he’d been calmer then. She prepared for the worst.

  Gnaw approached and his big hands gripped her hips. His strength impressed her again when he adjusted her by moving her over a few inches. Then he used one knee to press between her legs. She parted them willingly. One of his hands released her, and he slid it between their bodies. This time, he didn’t touch her slit. Instead, she felt the hard press of his thick rod against her sex.

  She squeezed her eyes closed, waiting for the pain.

  He didn’t shove into her, though; instead, rubbed the thick tip of his cock up and down her slit. She felt his warm lubricant coating her. Her heart rate slowed a little as the fear eased. He pressed the tip firmer against her flesh and kept up that slow movement, hitting her clit on every slight upstroke.

  Her body began to respond.

  “I will kill them all for this,” Gnaw hissed quietly.

  Her eyes widened as he lined them up and pushed his hips forward, her body taking him easily now.

  A small part of her felt shame. She should hate what they were being forced to do…but as he started to thrust his hips, driving into her deeper, all she could do was moan in pleasure. He just felt too good.

  Chapter Six

  Darla panted, moaning Gnaw’s name as she came for the second time. He took her faster, and then she felt him coming deep inside her. A low snarl left his lips. He stilled, her body pinned beneath him, still bent over the exam bed.

  It was day three. At least from what she could guess. They were still locked in the same room together. The sex was fantastic, but she also loved sleeping with Gnaw, too. He spooned her from behind, one of his arms under her head for a pillow, the other always wrapped protectively around her waist. They were prisoners, but it was easy to forget her fear unless the Elth gave them orders or entered the room to bring them another bucket of the watery plant mixture they called food.

  Gnaw bent over her, his chest resting against her back. He put his lips close to her ear. “Was I too rough?”

  “No.”

  He caressed her side with his big hand. “I’m angry.” He eased even closer, lowering his voice. “They should have been here by now. They are close.”

  “Maybe this ship is cloaked,” she whispered back. “Are we even on a ship? We could be on a planet or a station.”

  He grunted and lifted off her back, gently withdrawing his still-hard rod from her sex. She felt a little tender, but the Elth had continually demanded they breed. She’d lost count of how many sessions they had each day. Their captors even complained if Gnaw only took her once per time.

  “Breed her,” the tiresome voice demanded from the speaker.

  Gnaw threw back his head and roared. It startled her bad enough to slip off the edge of the bed. Her bare feet hit the floor and she almost lost her balance but Gnaw wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against his side.

  He faced the cameras. “I will kill you all for doing this to us.”

  “Have you bonded with her? We will bring in another female if this one isn’t compatible.”

  She hoped Gnaw wasn’t mad enough to lie by saying he’d mated her. They’d discussed it the night before while lying on the padded table, pretending to sleep. Darla feared if he said they were mates, the Elth would kill the other women. Then again, they might kill her if they lost patience, and send in her sister next.

  “It takes time to form the bond,” Gnaw snarled. “You know nothing about Veslors. Fools.”

  The insult had her inwardly wincing, and she turned into his side, rubbing his bare stomach. He lowered his head and their gazes met. She silently pleaded with him to let go of his anger.

  He closed his mouth and pressed his lips together, giving her a very slight nod.

  She relaxed and pressed her check to his chest. “We need just a little more time,” she stated loudly. “We’re trying to bond. It doesn’t help when you keep interrupting us. He’s highly stressed. You heard what Doctor Brick said. Remember? She said it could take time.”

  “We want results,” the Elth snapped. “This is taking too long.”

  “We’re doing the best we can.” She blinked back
tears. Gnaw’s arm tightened around her, and he gave her a squeeze. “It would help if you brought Gnaw meat. His kind need it.”

  Gnaw frowned and met her gaze again. She gave a small shrug. He’d complained about it over every food bucket they’d received.

  Only silence answered them.

  “They turned it off,” he whispered.

  “I’m sure they’ll be giving us more commands soon. They do it every few hours.”

  He released her and motioned toward the sink. She walked over to it and turned. They had the routine down now. Gnaw picked her up and sat her on the tall counter, where she removed the shirt she practically lived in, no longer putting anything on below her waist. The Elth wanted them to have sex too much to bother.

  Gnaw turned on the water and they both washed their bodies as best as they could, until large puddles wet the floor.

  “You should free your hair and I’ll wash it.”

  It was tempting, but Darla shook her head. “I’d really like a shower and hair cleaner but it’s best to keep it braided. I have a lot of it. It would clog the drains in that tiny sink and take forever to dry.” She hopped down then moved between him and the sink, washing her face and using water to wash out her mouth. Then she straightened, turning off the water.

  Gnaw reached out and took hold of her thick braid, examining it. “I could cut it.” He showed her his claws. “I’d hate to. I’d like to see it free. It must be beautiful.”

  She smiled. “It would be weird to not have it. Part of me resents that I’ve never been allowed to do more than trim it. Long hair can be a pain. But I’m so used to it now that it would be strange if I cut it off. My mother used to brush our hair every night. It was like mother/daughter bonding time. I plan to do the same with Becky on Defcon Red. I’m hoping it will make her miss our home and family a little less.”

  “You’re a good sister.”

  “Becky would argue with you about that. I bet she’s mad at me right now, blaming me for us being in this mess. We wouldn’t have been kidnapped if we hadn’t been on that shuttle.”

  “You were attempting to protect her.”